A mildly engaging little mystery, Crossroads finds the life of an amnesic William Powell turned upside down by Basil Rathbone and Claire Trevor, a pair of criminals. They attempt to blackmail Powell’s character, a French diplomat, claiming that before his amnesia he lived a life of crime with them and even went so far as to murder a man. They want money, of course, but for all Powell knows their story is complete fiction. Yet even that fictional story could jeopardize everything for him—including a possible ambassadorship to Brazil and his marriage to Hedy Lamarr. Lamarr admitted herself in her autobiography that “the story was not very strong,”1 but screenwriter Guy Trosper manages to stretch it out compellingly enough for eighty-three minutes. Powell and Lamarr don’t make the most convincing screen couple, but the supporting cast is strong, with turns from Felix Bressart, Margaret Wycherly, and Sig Ruman. Variety’s review notes the film’s Hitchcockian quality, but director Jack Conway is no Hitchcock—there’s ultimately little suspense to be found here. The premise of Crossroads is at times fun, but feels more flimsy the longer it goes on, culminating with an entirely preposterous solution.

Wesley Emblidge launched The Old Hollywood Times in 2017, after spending almost a year researching and developing the project. He works out of Boston overseeing all aspects of the site, from content to web design, while writing regularly. He also hosts the official podcast for the site, and edits the video essays. He’ll watch Cary Grant in just about anything, and avoids Charles Boyer films like the plague.